NCAAB Game Recap - Southern Illinois at Buffalo
Sat Dec 15, 2018 2:00 PM EST

Vill
71
Kansas
74
F
Tenn
102
Mem
92
F
Gonz
90
UNC
103
F
W MI
62
Mich
70
F
SDSt
68
Nev
72
F
Aub
75
UAB
71
F(OT)
AbCh
48
TxTch
82
F
VaTec
73
Wash
61
F
SIU
65
Buff
73
F
Buck
71
OhSt
73
F
Cin
59
MissSt
70
F
Utah
61
KY
88
F
AzSt
76
UGA
74
F
NrthIA
54
Iowa
77
F
UNCW
50
Furm
93
F
ODU
68
Syr
62
F
Ind
71
Butl
68
F
GASt
59
KSU
71
F
Iona
81
Princ
85
F
SMU
81
GTown
73
F
App
69
SoFL
76
F
W IL
68
IUPUI
82
F
Ohio
63
Detr
61
F
Nich
63
Boston
75
F
SEMO
74
Citad
86
F
Purd
80
ND
88
F
Maris
66
Colg
82
F
YSU
58
Bingha
48
F
Rut
66
Seton
72
F
(N/A)
44
Presb
87
F
MD-ES
43
Pitt
78
F
NCSU
89
PSU
78
F
ETSU
55
Ill
73
F
JSU
55
Evans
50
F
KTChr
55
Lib
96
F
Marsh
75
Akr
74
F
SFA
58
ULM
74
F
UCSB
99
Rice
89
F(OT)
Pepp
69
S UT
78
F(OT)
Dart
61
Albany
52
F
RobM
50
Rider
69
F
Radf
66
Clem
74
F
TNTec
68
KennSt
73
F
SCSt
84
USC-Up
88
F
Charl
83
VCU
79
F
StPet
53
StFNY
56
F
ORU
59
Rich
52
F
(N/A)
59
MtStM
74
F
Kent
70
Lou
83
F
Temp
77
David
75
F(OT)
IaSt
77
Drake
68
F
Belm
74
UCLA
72
F
NCAT
78
TNSt
76
F
N AL
48
UNCG
53
F
IPFW
68
APSU
95
F
ChaSo
61
NFla
68
F
USM
60
WichSt
63
F
NebOm
89
Ida
80
F
GrCan
60
Tex
98
F
JU
79
BethC
71
F
StLeo
60
Hamp
72
F
E WA
62
Stan
78
F
McNee
67
UMKC
80
F
UNCA
49
Woff
92
F
MTSU
62
Toled
84
F
WCU
59
HiPt
86
F
NJIT
90
FaDi
80
F
LaTec
83
UL
62
F
TxSt
77
UTRGV
68
F
Manh
46
UConn
61
F
E KY
77
Xav
95
F
JackSt
57
Murr
74
F
E IL
73
Brad
66
F
UTSA
67
Ark
79
F
MOSt
67
NDSU
74
F
UNLV
92
BYU
90
F(OT)
(N/A)
79
TN-M
108
F
South
66
NWSt
69
F
Bois
54
Oreg
66
F
USC
70
Okla
81
F
UtVal
75
Web
63
F
ASU
48
UtSt
86
F
CAPoly
66
Cal
67
F
NoAZ
74
SJSU
79
F
Gram
70
Portl
58
F
N CO
65
USD
85
F
Denv
52
UCIrv
86
F
LoyMa
85
PorSt
58
F
TAMU
67
OrSt
64
F
Baylor
58
Ariz
49
F
LSU
78
StMar
74
F

Dec 15, 2018, 2:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Southern Illinois

28

37

65

(14) Buffalo

33

40

73

No. 14 Buffalo tops So. Illinois 73-65, improves to 10-0
Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:39 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) After surviving a surprising challenge on its home floor, Buffalo is ready for a challenging road ahead.

Nick Perkins had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 14 Buffalo beat Southern Illinois 73-65 on Saturday ahead of a pivotal trip to face Syracuse and No. 21 Marquette next week.

The undefeated Bulls (10-0) are eyeing a return to the NCAA Tournament after upending No. 4 seed Arizona as a 13th seed last year.

"It's the biggest week of our nonconference season," Buffalo coach Nate Oats said. "If we take care of business this week, we pretty much guarantee ourselves an at-large bid."

The reigning Mid-American Conference champs entered the AP Top 25 for the first time in program history after beating then-No. 13 West Virginia on Nov. 9 and have risen in the rankings every week since.

"If we come out and play like we are capable of playing, I think we can get two wins," Oats said. "Even if we get one out of the two, I think we get an at-large bid if we do what we are supposed to in conference."

Southern Illinois (7-5) gave Buffalo a chance to prepare for Tuesday's matchup with Syracuse by switching to a zone defense after the Bulls opened up an early 25-8 lead. The Salukis trimmed the advantage to 33-28 by halftime and came back again in the second half after the Bulls built their largest lead, 59-39, with 10:46 remaining.

"They kind of shocked us," Perkins said of the switch to zone. "It's something that helps us going into Syracuse. Obviously, they play zone for 40 minutes. So SIU, I thought they helped us a little bit with knowing what plays to work."

Perkins scored 11 points during a 17-0 run that forced Salukis coach Barry Hinson to try the zone.

"I thought Perkins would immediately have to go to Springfield and enter the Hall of Fame, the way he played," Hinson said.

Oats said it was the best game of the season for Buffalo's senior sixth man.

"It told him before the game, it's been about a month or so since he got a double-double," Oats said. "It's time to get another one."

Sean Lloyd had 14 points to lead Southern Illinois in its second straight loss.

BIG PICTURE

Buffalo: The Bulls continued their best start since the 1930-31 season, when they finished 15-0. On a 10-game win streak for the first time since 1964-65, the Bulls have also won 17 in a row at home dating to last season.

Southern Illinois: The Salukis have struggled without leading scorer Armon Fletcher, who has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Saturday's loss followed an 80-52 defeat at home against Murray State.

KEY STAT

Point guard Davonta Jordan (11 points) led a defensive effort that forced Southern Illinois into 22 turnovers, including eight charging fouls. The takeaways led to 23 points for the Bulls, which helped make up for a 7-for-30 performance from 3-point range.

PLAYING HURT

Buffalo's leading scorer, CJ Massinburg, wore a wrap on his hand after jamming his finger in practice Tuesday. He struggled with his outside shot, going 0 for 4 from beyond the arc, and finished with 14 points, three below his season average.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

Oats was disappointed to see that Syracuse lost at home against Old Dominion on Saturday.

"That's the worst thing we needed right now," Oats said. "If you beat them it's not as much as a quality win either because they lost to Old Dominion, and I think they are going to be playing way harder."

UP NEXT

Buffalo visits the Carrier Dome on Tuesday, looking to beat Syracuse for the first time since 1963. The Orange pulled away late to win last year's meeting 81-74.

Southern Illinois hosts Winthrop on Dec. 22 in its final nonconference game.

---

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

Southern Illinois PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
S. Lloyd Jr. 14 0 2 6 2 1
E. McGill 13 0 2 10 1 1
Buffalo PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
N. Perkins 20 0 1 11 1 1
C. Massinburg 14 0 3 5 0 0

Team Comparison

SIU Buff
Points For 65 73
Field Goals 22/45-49% 27/62-44%
Three Pointers 3/13-23% 7/30-23%
Free Throws 18/22-82% 12/15-80%
Offensive Rebounds 9 10
Defensive Rebounds 26 16
Rebounds 40 29
Blocks 6 6
Steals 6 3
Turnovers 21 10
Personal Fouls 20 19
Technical Fouls 1 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - Buff Leads Series 2-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Mon Nov 12 Buff 62 @ SIU 53 M. McRae 11 K. Pippen 18
Sat Dec 15 SIU 65 @ Buff 73 S. Lloyd Jr. 14 N. Perkins 20

Game Information

Stadium: Alumni Arena, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 5,513
Game Time: